Triple Threat Shepards
by Musicalrain
Summary: Jane Shepard has two younger sisters, who are also in the Alliance. How would the events of ME3 be different? I have no rights to Mass Effect, I just have fun with it. Please Review! Status: Complete & link to drawing at end of last chapter
1. Chapter 1: Grissom is Full of Surprises

Triple Threat Shepards

_Note: Inspired by a prompt I've been reading on the kinkmeme, where John Shepard has his younger sister Jane on the Normandy in ME3. Well, I liked that so much – I decided to make my own version based off of my family. Not that I don't like the whole big bro and lil sister dynamic, but I think having two younger sisters (who are twins btw) creates a hilarious and exhausting dynamic, that I think would be just awesome in the ME universe. Enjoy!_

_Extra Note: Rated M due to some strong language and suggestive content. & I own nothing._

_7/2: Just played the extended cut ending DLC, this fic will pretty much ignore the Bioware endings.  
_

Chapter 1: Grissom is Full of Surprises

Commander Jane Shepard, savior of the Citadel, destroyer of the Collectors, first human Spectre, N7 class engineer, was having difficulties listening to Traynor talk.

She was caught in a half lidded daze. Garrus had just rejoined the crew, and she was eager to spend time with him. She already head a head-cracking headache from the Primarch, and wasn't in the mood to listen to Traynor blabber.

"...Grissom Academy..."

"What!"

"Grissom Academy seems to be under attack, and a fake Turian signal was sent out. I suggest we go there immediately, and check on the situation ourselves."

Shepard clenched her fits until they were white, "Joker get us to Gissom Academy immediately!" She yelled at the pilot over the comm, and frightened everyone in the CIC.

Joker turned to his copilot, "Why the hell is Shepard yelling EDI? You know what's wrong with her?"

"Well, she may be worried about her younger sisters, Jeff. They're currently stationed at the Academy."

"Wait. Sisters? Shepard has siblings, how many?" He was visibly skeptical.

But she replied in her normal collected tone, "Two, Jeff."

…...

En-route to Grissom, the crew had their mid-day meal. Practically everyone was there, minus Jane. Liara and Garrus sat together in the mess, reacquainting with one another. Jeff sat down dramatically, and smirked.

"Hey, do you guys know why we're going to Grissom?"

Liara was the first to reply, "Well, I believe there is an emergency there. The students and faculty are in danger."

With the smirk still planted firmly on his face, "Well, I happen to know _exactly_ who is in danger. There's two."

Garrus chimed in, "Two what?"

"Well, Garrus, I don't know if you know this. But hell, I'll tell all of you anyway... Shepard's _two_ younger sisters have jobs on Grissom, they're in the Alliance."

Garrus' face fell, his mandibles went wide. He couldn't find words for a bit, "Wait, wait... Shepard would have told me if she had sisters." But he didn't seem convinced. Their relationship was still relatively new.

"Well, apparently she doesn't tell you everything. I heard it straight from EDI's mouth. The older twin was in the Special Forces, but due to an injury, was forced from field duty. Her name's Anna. The younger twin is a field doctor, Eve, and she's currently the head of the on-station clinic."

With Garrus still in shock, Liara decided to talk, since he obviously couldn't, "I knew that Joker. I didn't say anything because, unlike you, I respect Shepard's privacy. And since she's never openly spoken about them, neither did I."

…...

Jane, EDI, and Garrus were on the shuttle minutes away from Grissom Academy.

Garrus was shifting nervously in his seat. It bothered him that Jane never told him about her family. He new about her mother, since well, everyone else seemed to. But he didn't actually hear about Hannah from Shepard herself, either. He finally got the courage to say something, "Uh, how come you've never said anything about your sisters?"

Jane's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything.

EDI decided to join in, "Yes, Shepard, I've also thought it strange. Their records indicate nothing to be ashamed of, or of the like. Clean records and good military standing."

Jane redirected her reply to the synthetic, who was finally trying out her new body.

"It's not that I'm ashamed of them, or not proud. I am, a lot. I just, uh, don't like talking about my family." What she didn't say, was that she thought boasting about her family was a wrong in some way. That's why she never really went around telling everyone about her relationship with Garrus too. She was just a very, very private person for some bizarre reason.

…...

After a while, and a few dozen dead Cerberus troops, Jane was standing before, not only her twin baby sisters, but Jack too – who just punched Jane. Garrus, per usual, came to Jane's defense. Only to have the crude biotic smirk in reply, "Bite me Garrus. Or better yet, bite her. Probably how she likes it."

Dual _What!_'s made Jane blush bright, bright red.

"Anna, Eve. This is, uh uh, my... my boyfriend, Garrus Vakarian." This was definitely not how Jane wanted her sisters to find out she was dating, _god __dating_, a turian. They both simultaneously looked from Garrus, to Jane, and repeated the action several times. It looked pretty funny actually.

Anna was the first to speak, obviously the braver of the twins, "Holy crap, Jane! I knew you were friendly and all with aliens, but I didn't know _how_ friendly."

Eve elbowed her twin and poked her in the side, she always was the more spirited one, "What Anna means, Garrus, is that it is nice to meet you." and with an added death glare directed at Anna, "And we have absolutely no problems with the fact that you're a turian. It's rare for Jane to date, you obviously must be something special."

Garrus did the turian equivalent of a blush before replying, "Thank you, it's nice to meet you, both of you, too."

Jack was growing impatient, "Yeah, yeah family reunion is nice and all. But if you haven't forgotten we still need to get the hell out of here. And I need to crush some Cerberus assh... I mean jerks."

…...

Back on the, quite tense, shuttle ride to the Normandy, one of the students had the audacity to break the silence, "Professor Shepard, is it true you and the doctor are the Commander's sisters?"

"Yeah kid, and let's just leave it at that for now."

Finally they were back, _finally_. James Vega was standing there waiting for them, and Anna was the first one off of the shuttle.

He went wide eyed, "Anita!"

"Vega! You asshole, it's good to see you!" She hugged him, lingering a little too long, "I thought you were on Earth." The statement was more of a question.

"Yeah, uh, not anymore. I'm here helping out the Commander." And just on cue, said Commander, joined her sister's side raising an eyebrow at James.

"Something I should know, Anna?"

Realization dawned on James' face as he placed what he was seeing before him with what little information he had in his head, remembering Anna's last name, "Wait Anita, your last name's... Shepard!"

"Yeah, that's right. Jane's my big sis."

"And I'm Anna's twin, Eve." Eve joined the line-up on the other side of Jane. With the three Shepard sisters before him, Vega took in the sight with blatant fear and confusion on his face as he contemplated.

They looked similar, sure. But he still couldn't believe what he was seeing. They all had different hair colors, Anna's dark auburn, Jane's dark brown, and Eve's light brown. But they all had the same, dark, dark eyes and pale skin. And the same nose! Their face shapes were different too, but similar enough. Hell, they looked like sisters. But as for twins, he figured they had to be fraternal.

Jack joined in on the other side of Eve.

"There's four!" he exclaimed with obvious fear, because that last one looked like she could kill him and enjoy the hell out of it. That's not to say Jane wouldn't mind to right about now.

Jack replied with obvious disgust at the idea, "Hell no, I'm no Shepard." She turned to Eve, "Hey we're taking the injured to the med-bay wanna tag along, doc?"

"Hell yeah!" and addressing her eldest sister, "Who's your physician?"

"Dr. Chakwas."

The biggest smile passed over her baby sister's face, and then she hurriedly rushed off with Jack and a few of the students.

Garrus, of course, was standing far off to the side enjoying seeing Jimmy squirm. He also definitely did not miss the all encompassing, _I'll __kill __you __with __my __mind_, death stare Jane shot Vega just before she turned to her sister, "Annie, I have to take care of a few things. Feel free to stay here for the moment, if you want. Evie will be on the third floor if you need her." She used her sisters' pet names to indicate a threat to Anna, that she was most certainty not ok with how familiar she seemed to be with Vega.

Vega nodded at Jane, "Commander," as she turned to leave the pair. He didn't dare call her Lola after the look she gave him.

Jane walked up to Cortez by the shuttle, "Hey, can you help Sanders and the kids settle in?" Then she lowered her voice to a whisper and set a hand on the man's shoulder, "And please keep an eye on my baby sister and Vega. Let me know if anything _distasteful _goes on... And keep her safe."

"Certainty ma'am." He knew that he wouldn't trust Vega around any sister of his, if he had a sister.

Finally Jane exhaled slowly, walked up to Garrus, patted him on the shoulder once, and they walked together eager to start cleaning their sniper rifles.

Anna walked forward and turned to stand next to James, and nodded in the direction of Jane and Garrus, "What do you know about them?"

"Lola and Scars? I think they're together, though no one has told me."

"Yeah they're together." She sounded a little sad, and Vega picked it up.

"Have a problem with him being a turian?"

"No, no. I have a problem with the fact that my dear big sis never told me about him."

"To be fair, I don't think anyone knew Lola had any family."

"Hmm..." They stood in silence together, watching Garrus and Jane clean their guns nearly in sync with one another.

"So, what's with the visor going across your face Anita?"

She chuckled softly, "Didn't think you would forget that I have a glass right eye thanks to you."

His voice dropped, "Yeah, but why do you have a visor that goes across your entire face, if you can't see out of one eye?"

"It feeds information into the side over my good eye. It allows me to see around myself with one eye." She pointed with her finger as she spoke.

"Oh..." Vega replied, then he shouted, "Take a picture Esteban! It'll last longer!"

…...

Meanwhile, Eve nearly knocked poor Karin down in a excited bear hug.

"Karin! It's so good to see you."

"It is good to see you too, Eve." She patted her back.

Jack stood there confused, "Wait a sec. You two know each other?"

"Yeah. I worked with Karin before I went to Grissom."

She playfully punched Jack in the shoulder, "Now let me take a look at those upgrades I gave you. We don't want your brain cooking from an overworked amp."

…...

Garrus took Jane's rifle from her to put away.

"Are you okay with that?" He was looking in the direction of Jimmy and Anna. They were laughing at something.

She shook her head, "No way in hell... But I can't exactly tell her to stay away from him. She doesn't listen to me anymore."

He leaned back, "You ordered your sisters around?"

"Of course! It is my duty as a big sister to make sure they don't get into trouble, and that they do the right thing." _S__he's __always __been __a __Commander._

He laughed, "Solana would _never _let me order her around like that." Then he dropped his voice, the turian smile gone. "How come you never told me about them?" His question was still not answered to his satisfaction.

Jane huffed a breath, "I wanted to tell you when you told me about your family. But... I didn't think it was a good time, you seemed so upset... I just wanted to comfort you... And it never really came up."

He put his hand in her hair, nuzzled her cheek. That was good enough for him. She backed away from him slowly, "Let's, uh, keep the touching to a minimum around my sisters. I just want them to adjust to the idea of," she gestured between them with her hands, "us."

…...


	2. Chapter 2: What the Hell the Citadel

Chapter 2: What the Hell the Citadel

"Oh! You have a hamster! What's his name?" Eve was always full of energy, Jane didn't know where it all came from.

"Garrus named him. I forget what it is though. I only got it cause it was hyper... It kinda reminded me of you actually, Evie. Guess I needed something familiar." She laughed at her sister's bewildered look.

Anna leaned back on the door to her bathroom, eying the model ships as she spoke, "So... What's the deal with him?"

"Yeah, we want details. Though not all," Eve put her hands up defensively, "definitely not all."

Jane rolled her eyes, "He's been part of my crew since I was with the SR-1. Joined me again when I was, uh, revived. And I just picked him up from Palavan's moon, Manae."

Anna drew her eyes towards Jane, "That's not what we mean, _Janie_."

Jane sighed, "Fine. But not a word of this to anyone," they nodded their heads in return, "I guess I started having, uh, romantic feelings towards him after I was revived. But he was always a good friend before that. Always at my six." She smiled, "I missed him so much while I was stuck on Earth. I didn't realize how invested I was until I saw him again, on Manae."

Anna interrupted, "How serious are you two?"

Jane shifted her weight, and adverted her eyes, "Uh..."

"You two seem pretty serious," she stood straighter, "aren't you?"

Jane couldn't reply to that as Joker interrupted, "We've arrived at the Citadel, Commander."

She let out a slow breath, "Thanks Joker."

Eve blurted out, "Oh! That reminds me. I want a quick look at Joker. Karin has told me about his condition. I want to see if I can help."

She shifted towards Eve, "Well, if your 'help' is what I think it will be, then you will definitely have to kiss his ass in order to get a look at his legs, and that may not be just metaphorical."

…...

They were just outside of the Normandy at the docking bay, Jack and the sisters were talking, as Sanders was instructing the students. Jack may not have been a Shepard, but she was certainty a good friend to them all. Jack actually got along well with Anna and Eve. They had hung out a lot, got drunk a lot rather, at Grissom. Although, they never really spoke about Jane. Jack liked to talk about herself, a lot. They continued to say their goodbyes to Jack.

Jack crossed her arms, "Hell, you guys are way too soft. All you need to say is, 'don't get your ass handed to you,' and that would've been good enough."

Eve turned to Jane, "I guess we ought to be going."

"No, you two aren't."

"What the hell Jane?" Anna added, skeptical.

"I have permission from Hackett for you two to join the Normandy crew. With the war going on, we're going to need all the experienced medical professionals we can get our hands on. And Anna, I want you advising in the war room. You did teach war strategy and basic combat at Grissom, correct?" She placed a hand on each of their shoulders, "Plus, I want you two close. We've been too far apart for too long."

…...

"Crap! We have to stay in the crew's quarters? And here I thought being the commanding officer's sister was supposed to lead to special treatment."

Jane laughed, the crew quarters were crammed, "Yeah. You both may want to stock-up on some decent smelling soap before we go. We'll be on shore leave until the morning."

And with those words, everyone was out of that room, likely heading for the closest bar. Jane hung back a bit, and caught Vega on his way through the CIC.

"Lieutenant, a word?" She led him to a corner of the CIC, back to where the door had been that led to the old armory, before the rebuild.

"Be honest. What's the deal with you and Anna?" She found herself using the same terminology as Anna had towards her about Garrus.

"Uh..." he fumbled, "well we worked together. Special Forces. Remember the story I told you during our dance, Lola?" He smiled, trying to appease to her better half.

She leaned back on one leg, crossed her arms, "Uh huh. Look, I saw you hug. She's pretty reserved. No touching unless there's trust. Details Vega."

He straightened himself, "Anita was one of the few of the team that I was able to save. An incinerating round took her eye out. I carried her to the evac. I, uh, stuck around until I was sure she was okay. I was there when the doc told her that she couldn't get a new eye grown, too much damage." He grimaced at the memory. This was a side of Vega that Jane never saw before. He looked genuinely concerned, and saddened by the memory. "We're friends is all, Lola."

"Mmhmm. That's it for now Lieutenant, but watch yourself." He saluted her and then left.

…...

Later, at Purgatory and two shots in, Garrus joined Jane at the bar.

He sat down next to her, with his usual swagger, "I hear you had a 'talk' with Jimmy Vega. Wanna tell me about it?"

She took another shot, that was enough for the night.

"I didn't threaten to cut off his balls and sell them to a krogan, if that's what you're asking." He laughed, then she added, "I just asked him about him and Anna. They apparently are just 'friends.' Pfft."

Their conversation was cut-off by a bellowing laugh that originated in Joker's direction. He was laughing, and crying, over something. Jane and Garrus got up to have a look themselves.

And what they saw, left them both slack-jawed. Jane spoke first, "Eve's dancing with... Liara!"

They looked over to Joker. "I guess I'm out 30 credits, and I'm in for some tests. I bet your sister that she couldn't get Liara drunk, and if she could – I'd let her take a look at my legs." He rushed that out before he threw himself into another fit of laughter.

Garrus finally said something, though it didn't help any. "This...is...not good."

…...

Having to deal with a drunk Liara, was not how Jane imagined herself spending her shore-leave. _Garrus, __I'm __sorry._ But Jane wasn't alone in this, oh no, she dragged Eve right back to the Normandy with her.

"Take care of this, now." Jane couldn't remember the last time Liara was drunk, _did __she __get __drunk?_

"I will, _ma'am_..." She teased.

"Don't talk like that, Eve."

"What?"

Jane brought a hand to her temple, "Just, just help Liara."

Jane was frustrated – she didn't much care for the way Eve said _ma'am_. It always rilled her up, and Eve new that too. _Why__ i__s __she __acting __like __a __child?_ Good thing Garrus seemingly magically appeared next to her in the med-bay, before she punched her sister.

She turned around, "Garrus, let's go."

"Is Liara alright?"

"She will be."

…...

"Goddess, what happened?" Liara's voice cracked as she said that, clutching her head, waking up on some couch. Her eyes focused. She was in Shepard's cabin. Jane and Garrus lay cuddled, but thank the Goddess, clothed, in their bed. Diagonally across from Liara, slept Eve in a lounge chair. Eve stirred right after Liara.

"Good morning drunkshine." she yawned.

"Oh, so that's what happened... I haven't felt like this in decades." She groaned in pain, still clutching her head.

Eve decided to clarify the situation, "We decided that we couldn't leave you alone, especially when the thing I tried in the med-bay didn't work."

She looked up, perhaps a little too quickly, "What did you _try_?"

Eve shrugged, "Better you don't know."

"Hmm. You're just like your sister."

"Not quite. I'm the fun one." She smiled.

"Keep it down." Jane huffed from the bed. This most certainly was not how she wanted to spend shore-leave.

She then had the sudden realization that she sounded like a mother, her mother. And that in some twisted way she and Garrus were playing the role of parents to Eve and Liara. Despite her ass-kicking ways, she did have a maternal side – she had pretty much been a mother to her sisters since she was young, since her parents were always too busy to be around. No, she put these thoughts aside. Garrus didn't seem like a fatherly type, did he?

Sometime during her thought process, Liara and Eve had gotten up and left the room, the sound of the door closing shook her from her thoughts.

"Spirits, they're gone. Thought they would never leave." Garrus' grip on her waist tightened, as he spoke into her hair.

"I thought you were asleep." She angled her head back, since he was behind her.

He gently rolled her over, "How could I sleep? This is the first time we've shared a bed in over _six_ months."

…...

Some time, definitely sometime later, Jane found herself down in the cargo-hold double checking all the supplies she ordered the day before.

She turned to Steve, "Cortez, are we missing anything?"

He looked down at his data pad, "Ah, it looks like we're missing a shipment of dextro food reserves." _Crap._ If she didn't want Garrus and the Primarch to survive on nutrient paste, she would have to track down that order.

Before she left, she stopped to talk with Eve in the med-bay.

"Eve. I have something I still need to do on the Citadel, so we're going to be stuck here for a little while more. I was wondering if you could stop by Huerta for me? A friend of mine, Major Kaidan Alenko, is there. I'd like it if you could confer with his attending physician, Dr. Michel, and see if there's anything you could do for him. Since, well, you have a lot of experience with biotics and amps, thanks to Grissom."

"Sure thing sis."

…...

Kaidan awoke from a drugged haze, to find a woman standing over him, her omni-tool glowing orange over his head.

"Oh. You're awake Major? You're part of the Normandy crew, right?"

His eyes were still adjusting, he waved off her omni-tool. "Commander Shepard?"

"Oh, no no. I'm not Commander Jane Shepard, I'm Doctor Eve Shepard. I'm Jane's younger sister." He still looked confused, so she elaborated, "Ugh, you don't know either? Well, I'm Jane's younger sister. I'm a doctor. Field doctor actually, I have some combat training. Anyways, sorry my mouth sometimes runs away from me. But, ah, Jane asked me to take a look at you. I have some experience with L-implants, biotics. I've already spoken with Dr. Michel, but I also wanted a look myself." She smiled.

Kaidan had always found the Commander physically attractive, but this younger Shepard was very charming, in some cute awkward way.

"Oh. Well have at it, Doctor Shepard." He sat up straighter.

She offered her hand, "Eve. Everyone calls me Eve."

…...


	3. Chapter 3: You're a Krogan

Chapter 3: You're a Krogan

_Dammit... Krogan... Primarch... Crap..._

Jane had gathered some of her crew, and was trying to debrief them.

"Yes. We're going to pick-up a female krogan that's immune to the genophage, so we can broker support from the krogan and the turian militaries."

Crap.

A bit later, after Wrex nearly caused a, well, incident, they were on the Salarian homeworld.

"Anna, I want you to stay behind with Cortez and Wrex."

"What? Why?"

"Well, you're technically not supposed to be on field duty." She shifted her weight.

"I have a damn visor, Jane. I can see. And it's just a simple pick-up, no combat likely. And if you're worried about my combat skills, I can assure you – I personally ripped the throats out of several Cerberus assholes, not too long ago."

Jane looked at her, not as her sister, but as the Commander.

"Fine. Take Eve, I don't care." She returned to the shuttle.

Jane had Eve, Liara, and Garrus with her for the pick-up. She had finally taken her sisters with her, since, well they get pretty antsy when they're couped up.

A little later, Jane was standing before her sister, Eve, talking to Mordin. They were discussing, well she didn't know. Something about vectors, genetic somethings. Jane had decided that her sister was shockingly way, way too similar to Mordin. It scared her a little, to be honest.

Off to the elevator.

Garrus exclaimed, "Oh, Crap!" right before Jane and he nearly jumped away from the explosion of a bomb in said elevator.

_Yeah,__simple __pick-up,__no __combat __likely_... Just mere minutes later they were thick in it.

Jane instructed, "I'll snipe them from the top. You three stay down here. Garrus swap out your rifles. Use armor-piercing clips."

They did as they were instructed, wiping out several troops before Garrus took cover to re-load just as Eve was. He eyed her hands, _that __pistol __looks __very __familiar_. She spied him looking questioningly at her hand-cannon. It was N7.

"Yeah. I _borrowed _it from Jane. I couldn't get my hands on anything bigger. But I modified it for distance. It works pretty good actually. My poor baby was too damaged from Cerberus, I couldn't save her."

"Seems like you 'borrowed' all of your equipment today." Now he was eying her armor. It was Liara's silver armor with the large shoulders that she kept for a spare – she preferred her white though.

"Naw. I got permission for this one. I couldn't fit into any of Jane's armor. It's not my fault I'm bustier than her." Liara softly chuckled as she too took cover, and Garrus got up to take a few shots.

Eve continued her banter, this time directing it at Liara. "Did you see what she put Anna in? I mean sure, the blood dragon armor is pretty and all, but is it really functional? I think Jane only kept it as a souvenir from her time with Cerberus, honestly."

And then they were face-to-face with a giant Atlas mech. They were having a hell of a time trying to take down the thing. Jane tried overloading it's shields, and had just sent out a combat drone as Eve threw a smoke grenade. It didn't do shit.

"Take cover!" Anna yelled from the hovering shuttle. She was standing in its doorway with a missile launcher in her arms.

The Atlas turned just in time for the missile to collide with the glass of its cockpit. _That __did __it._ Soon enough everyone was on-board, heading to the Normandy.

Wrex said in his bellowing voice, "Damn Shepard. I thought you acted like a krogan, but you have nothing on your sister there. She's pushy as hell, and has one mean streak." Anna actually impressed Wrex, _well __that__'__s __something_.

Soon enough they boarded.

Vega was awaiting their return in the cargo-hold, "Damn Anita! You look hot."

She chuckled, still holding the missile launcher. "Yeah, I've claimed this. It's totally mine now." She patted the launcher.

"No, I mean the armor. Damn, damn." he looked up and down her, "You fill it out nice."

Jane coughed, loudly, as she walked over, "Keep it in your pants, Lieutenant. That's an order."

Mordin interrupted, "We're heading to the med-bay, Commander. Must evaluate Eve's condition."

"What?"

"Eve, that is the krogan female's name. Real name unknown. Human mythology seemed appropriate. This is a human vessel."

"My sister's name is Eve."

"Aware of that. I will refer to her as Shepard for distinction."

Jane turned back to Anna, "Keep the launcher and the armor. You can also take my N7 assault rifle. You'll need something better than that piece of crap pistol you have there, since you'll be on the field now."

"What!"

"I've approved you for combat duty. Heavy munitions. But you still primarily advise on combat strategy in the war room."

Anna dragged Jane into a hug. She was simply too excited. She was bred for combat, lived and breathed death and war, like Jane. But unlike Jane, she hadn't seen any action in a long, long time.

"Now, that's hot."

"Pants, Lieutenant. Pants."

…...

Jane decided to give Eve a present too, her N7 shotgun. She arrived at the med-bay, "Eve, a word?" Both the krogan female and her sister looked towards her. "Ah, I mean human Eve. Sister. A word outside?"

Eve got up and followed Jane over, "What's going on?"

"I know you've stolen my pistol, but here..." She handed her the shotgun.

"What?" She thought that it may have been some weird form of punishment, maybe cleaning the shotgun?

"Well, you are a field doctor. You've certainly proven yourself as a soldier. Even though I've never fought beside you before, I want to now. So you need something other than my pistol."

She raised a brow questioningly, "But, don't you use it?"

"Naw. I can certainly manage with a sniper and a submachine gun. I haven't exactly had formal sniper training through the Alliance – just the basics – but before I was grounded, Garrus taught me."

"Oh, well you're obviously feeling generous today." She smiled, "thanks."

"No problem. Let Mordin know I'll stop by later with Wrex, you know, after he's done tending to the krogan Eve."

Eve walked back into the med-bay. Mordin asked as she entered, "Gift, Doctor Shepard?"

"Uh yeah," she looked down at the shotgun she was holding "but, I've never really used a shotgun before. I favor SMGs myself."

The female krogan laughed, "It's easy. It does most of the work for you."

Eve's speech sped up, "Yeah, well now target practice is going to strip me away from my work. Not to mention I have to modify the damn thing, and my 'new' armor. I don't even have an active tactical cloak yet, and I'm gonna have to build it from scratch..." she looked over to Mordin, "Not to mention that I'd like to get my paws into that Genophage cure you're working on, Doctor Solus."

"Would appreciate the assistance, Shepard. And what else are you working on?"

"Improved heavy bone weave for Joker, and L2 implant upgrades – I'm trying to increase cool-down speed and overall efficiency without removing them. The patient that I'm consulting with has the L2s and for safety, they can't be removed – would be easier if they could."

"Sounds like you have a lot to do."

"Pfft. All of that can go on the back burner. Genophage cure is priority." She rolled her eyes. _Working __with __Mordin __is __going __to __be __fun._

…...

Later, Jane returned to the med-bay and had quite an interesting talk with the female krogan, Eve. And her sister, Eve, nearly embarrassed the hell out of her once they finished.

"That's right, girl power!"

"Eve Shepard, leave _please_."

"_Fine_... What's going on Mordin?"

"Vector analysis."

"Let me have a look."

Jane turned back to the krogan Eve to apologize once her sister was out of earshot, "I'm sorry, she's... she's a little outspoken."

She chuckled, "No, she's just young Commander. No harm done."

"Yeah, but sometimes she acts like a child."

"She seems to be professional enough. I think she's helping Mordin, actually."

…...

Later that night, Jane awoke to the sound of knocking at her door. She didn't even bother to open her eyes – Garrus was awake, and went to answer it. But she promptly sat up once she heard Eve's voice.

Eve's eyes widened, Garrus' chest was bare, "Uh, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

"No, it's alright. Jane's asleep."

"Oh... Oh, okay. I'll just go then." She seemed a little disappointed, or sad. Garrus couldn't tell.

He raised a turian brow at her, "Anything wrong?"

She shifted her weight, "No, not really... I was just hoping to borrow some of Jane's, uh, engineering skills. I've kinda run into a snag." Great. Now Jane was awake, and interested.

She yelled over to them, "Just give me a sec. Let me get some pants on."

…...

A little later, and she found herself elbow deep into Eve's armor, literally.

Eve had been talking all night practically, she really was a bottomless pit of energy.

"So... You know when you think someone likes you, but then you don't feel that way about them. But you don't say anything, cause, you know, you're not sure if your suspicions are right?"

Jane was getting a headache, "What? Who are we talking about, Eve?"

"Ugh. You're just gonna make me spell it out to you, aren't you? Liara... I think Liara might like-like me. But, I don't know. Cause lately she's been spending so much time with that prothean, and, you know, being the shadow broker and stuff."

Jane's voice dropped, "You don't 'like-like' her?"

Eve started playing with her fingers, "No. I mean, she's nice and all. But I only see her in the friend-zone. I could totally see her and I as literal best friends forever."

"Well, I don't what to tell you. I mean, I know what I would tell you if we were talking about another human. But, she's asari. So, I don't know what would be considered offensive. You should ask Mordin."

Eve's voice went up a few octaves, "What? You're serious?"

"Yeah." Jane raised a brow, "Mordin actually gave me some good advice when it came to Garrus. For some reason, he seems to know a lot about interspecies relationships."

"That kinda scares me."

…...

"Hmm. That's something to ponder. Rare for asari to be rejected by potential mate." Eve had intended to ask Mordin first thing in the morning, but due to circumstance, it was now mid-day and Eve was going to have a nervous breakdown.

The female krogan decided to add, "If she were krogan, you could just kill her."

Eve Shepard was horrified, "But I'm not krogan. This Eve's not krogan."

EDI helped ease the stress, for once actually, "I believe that was a joke. But, I can look up the information for you via externet if you wish, Doctor Shepard."

Eve let out a slow breath, "Thank you EDI. Just please make sure it's as accurate as possible. And please just forward it to my omni-tool. I don't want anyone else knowing about this."

"Actually, forward it to me first EDI. Would like a look myself." Mordin seemed to be amused. Just earlier, Joker had asked him for something similar, and the Commander had overheard too.

…...


	4. Chapter 4: Circle of Death

Chapter 4: Circle of Death _[Note: Half-way point!]_

"Hey, finish up we're heading to Tuchanka..." Jane stopped mid-sentence because, not only was Mordin singing, but so was Eve Shepard.

"For she is a krogan queen..."

Jane tried so hard to hold back her laughter, but couldn't for long. Once she gathered herself, "You two are really one and the same, huh? Wonder if it's a scientist thing..."

"Hey, you know that I've always been partial to karaoke, sis. Mordin and I were just singing a goodbye to Eve here. Has nothing to do with the fact that we're both doctors."

The light-hearted way the day started was overshadowed by the events that took place later in the day. Mordin had died, but had saved the krogan from the genophage in the process.

Jane seemed to be on the boarder of breaking. The stress of what was happening was getting to her. She was having nightmares. Garrus was worried, he brought it to Anna and Eve's attention.

"Hey. I was, uh, wondering if either of you had any ideas. Jane's not doing too good. I don't know what to do..."

Anna was the first to give advise, "She just needs some time to grieve, Garrus. Don't worry. She was like this when dad died."

Eve disagreed, "Hey, no way Anna. This is more than that. The fate of the entire universe is practically on her shoulders. It's going to take more than time to help her." She turned to Garrus, "Give her like a day to herself. Then try to comfort her, but don't bring up anything serious – especially anything related to death. Once she goes through the grieving process, we'll try to cheer her up. Sound good?"

Nothing extreme happened over the next few days, but Eve's calculation of how long Jane needed to process, was a little underestimated. Jane wasn't herself, they could all see it. But Garrus and the sisters tried to keep everything as close to normalcy as they could.

…...

James was in the mess, cooking and talking to Javik. Once Javik saw Anna approach, he excused himself from Vega.

"Hey, whatcha doing?"

"Making huevos rancheros, my abuela's recipe... Wanna taste?"

She shrugged, "Sure. Why not?" She took a bite from what Vega offered.

"Now, I don't know what kind of eggs these are – not sure if I want to know. But it is still the best thing I've had to eat since I've been here. What do ya think, Anita?"

Shock crossed her face, "It's great, Jimmy. Honestly. I don't think I've ever had anything like it before. What's it called again?"

"Huevos rancheros." He smiled, pleased with himself.

"Nice... Now, you're gonna have to cook for me all the time. I've only lived off of military rations since I was born."

"Whoa now. If I'm gonna cook for you, I'm gonna need payment." He grinned wider.

She stepped forward, laid a hand on his shoulder, "And what would that be?"

…...

Eve was down in the cargo-hold finishing up her modifications on her equipment, and Cortez walked up to her.

"Ah, Doctor Shepard?"

"Yeah, Steve?"

"Well, um, you're sister, the Commander, she had asked me to keep an eye on Anna. And well, I decided to go to you and not her first, because she seems to be a bit unstable right now."

"Yeah? Spill it out Cortez."

"Uh, well I just saw Anna and Vega go into that shuttle there. I, uh, have a feeling..."

She didn't even bother to listen to the rest of what Cortez was saying. This was simply too good; blackmail material worthy. She giggled. _Now, __to __bust __them, __or __to __bring __it __up __later? __Hmm..._

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it Steve." She said with the biggest shit-eating grin on her face.

…...

Eve went promptly up to Liara's office, and shouted, "Guess what!"

Liara still considered Eve a close friend – despite the whole misunderstanding, and the intervention from Mordin that recently happened.

She raised a brow, already knowing the situation, "Yes, I do know _what_. I do have surveillance across the ship, and surrounding every _shuttle_."

"Awe man. I can't surprise you with anything..." She pouted, "So, what are we gonna do about it? We all know Jane's opinion on the matter."

"Why do we have to do something about it?"

"Cause it's fun silly." She smirked.

But, they couldn't act on what was going on, because they had just arrived at the Citadel, and Jane went on comm announcing that it was under attack.

They all gathered for a briefing on the situation.

Jane was instructing, "We'll break up into two teams. I will lead the first team, and we'll clear the C-sec offices – Garrus, EDI and Eve will come with me. Team Bravo will be led by Vega – you'll provide support to the C-sec officers, and assist in securing the civilians. Alright, let's move out."

Before long, Bailey was directing Vega's team, and Jane was off tracking down the Salarian counselor. They came under heavy fire every so often, but shortly they were whitenessing Thane's battle with Kai Leng – and he just stabbed Thane.

"Eve! Help Thane! I'll take care of the assassin." Jane shouted as she ran.

Soon Jane, Garrus, and EDI were in pursuit of Leng, and Eve was behind with the injured drell.

"I'm Doctor Eve Shepard, Jane's sister. I'm going to help you, just stay still." He passed out.

In no time, Jane dealt with an armed stand-off with Kaidan, and saved the remaining counselors. She went to Huerta, where Eve was still with Thane. Eve and Thane's attending physician explained the situation, and soon thereafter, another one of Commander Shepard's former crew members had died. Eve felt terrible that she couldn't help the drell. She thought it was a direct indication of her failure as a doctor; she had no experience with Keprell's Syndrome.

Jane and Eve walked back to the Normandy in silence.

Kaidan was there waiting at the docks, he intended to ask for permission to rejoin the Normandy crew. But, Jane was in no mood to talk. She swiftly dealt with Kaidan's suspicions about why she shot the counselor, and left Eve to deal with Kaidan.

"Uhh... I guess you can come aboard Major. It's good to see your condition has improved. If you'd like, I can finish my earlier examination once we're on-board."

Once in the med-bay, "Dammit!"

"That doesn't sound good ma'am."

"No, sorry. It's just that I haven't finished my designs for the upgrade I've been working on for you. Umm, do you mind if I ask you to come back in a few days, like two? Everything should be in good order by then."

He softly chuckled, "Sure thing... If you don't mind me asking, how's your sister doing?"

"Which one?"

He was confused, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Oh, uh, sorry forgot. The Commander has two younger sisters. We're twins, I'm the youngest. My twin's Second Lieutenant Anna Shepard. She's usually around the war room, or the cargo-hold, if you want to introduce yourself... But anyways, I assume you're asking about Jane? Well, she could be better. That's for sure. Her boyfriend, Garrus, is trying to help, but the stress is getting to her. You know?"

That was just more information than Kaidan could process, and it was all spit out fairly quickly.

"Wait. Three Shepards? And Jane's with Garrus?"

"Oh, sorry. My mouth again. But yeah, to all of it."

…...

Jane had declared that the crew would be on shore-leave until a later, still yet to be determined, time, and that the crew was encouraged to help in any capacity possible with the efforts to restore order in the Citadel.

Sometime later, Jane found herself, drunk, and waking up on the couch next to Aria. Aria just gave Shepard a face, but she couldn't tell what type – she was too far gone. Then she came across Jack, and actually had a somewhat intelligible conversation with her. Jane didn't even notice her sisters there.

"Hey, Jane and Jack. How about we take a little breather on the dance floor?"

Jack answered first, "But everyone knows Jane can't dance."

Eve was persistent though, "C'mon." She winked.

Sure enough, a drunk Jane and sober Jack, Anna, and Eve were on the dance-floor. Jane didn't even know what the hell she was doing, but hey, it felt a whole lot better than sulking.

"Damn. The dance gene must have skipped Jane." The biotic was very amused.

And so was Joker. He just happened to be at the bar, and was recording with his omni-tool.

Once Joker had enough laugh-worthy footage, he went over to the booth where the men of the Normandy were gathered.

"Hey, I'm going to forward something to your omni-tools. And you all better look at it now."

"This better not be anything... unsavory, Joker." Kaidan hadn't been part of the new crew for long, but he clearly remembered all his... questionable occurrences with Joker.

Vega started laughing, "Lola! What the hell? And who's that hot tattooed chick dancing with Anita? She looks familiar... God, I'm going to keep this forever..."

Garrus' face fell, this was not good for Jane's reputation. But man, it was certainly something. He would have to decide later if he would show this to her. "Joker, don't send this to anyone else. This... shouldn't be spread around."

…...

Jane awoke later that evening, thankfully, in her bed. Garrus was there waiting for her to wake up.

"Uh... I have something to show you, you may not like it though."

"What?" She saw the all-embarrassing vid of her dancing like a lunatic with Jack and her sisters.

"Who shot this?"

"...Joker..."

…...

She spun Joker around so fast in his chair, he nearly fell out.

"Who the hell has seen this?"

"God. Garrus ratted me out, didn't he? Well just Garrus, Kaidan, Vega..."

Jane was horrified. But, thankfully, Eve was there to stop her from going all krogan on them all.

"Hey, hey sis. How about we punish them at their own game?" She took her aside, aware of Joker listening. "You know how we all used to play poker with the other military brats? Well, Anna has actually won a few poker competitions, high-stake competitions, and I don't think anyone here knows that. So how about we challenge them to a game?... And make it strip-poker so they can't resist. By the end of it, they'll all be bare-assed." Jane didn't look convinced, "Hey, we're so much better at cards than any of these nitwits. I've actually watched a game between James and Joker – they suck oh so very much. It's embarrassing actually..."

Things we're getting crazy aboard the Normandy. Now Jane found herself in a ridiculous poker match with Garrus, Kaidan, Vega, Joker, Anna, and Eve. Jane was wearing her N7 hoodie for extra layers, just in case Eve's plan didn't fall through.

Within a few hours, sure enough Anna was wining – she was still fully clothed. Jane had only lost her hoodie, socks and shoes. Nearly all the men were down to their skivvies, except for Garrus. Kaidan still had his shirt though, but Eve had just lost her pants.

"Damn Anita. Where are you pulling this out of? Whenever we had a game, I always won." Vega grumbled.

She smirked, "That's because I _let_ you win, Vega. Didn't anyone ever hear of the Ruby of Skyllian-Five?"

Joker's eyes went wide, he had only his boxers, hat, and socks on, "You're the Ruby of Skyllian-Five? But, but you won over half a million credits!"

"I donated them all. Citadel Orphan's Fund."

Joker couldn't believe it, "EDI, is this true?"

"Yes, Jeff. The Lieutenant has won over 2.3 million credits throughout the past 6 years. She's donated all of her winnings to charities. Primarily Earth's Red Cross and the Citadel Orphan's Fund. She has only removed her travel expenses from her winnings. Her most recent competition was the one you mentioned, that resulted in the 572-thousand credit winnings. She is the youngest human consecutive champion of Skyllian-Five Poker, at age twenty-seven."

Joker about died, "Holy Crap! Why are you still in the Alliance then?"

She shrugged, "I like to kill stuff."

Sure enough Eve was right, and not just about the poker. That after Jane went through the grieving process, she needed to be cheered up – and this certainly did the trick.

…...


	5. Chapter 5: Opposites Attract

Chapter 5: Opposites Attract

Outside of Apollo's, Kaidan and Eve were looking over the menu.

Eve decided to speak up, "You know, this isn't what I meant when I asked for you to come around again. I can't really take a look at your implant out here."

"I know, but I thought it would be nice if we came out here. Especially since I think I still owe you from poker."

"Oh yeah. That was the only hand I won, and I got your shirt." She grinned.

"So, Jane's the first human Spectre and a hero, and Anna is a galaxy-wide champion of Skyllian-Five. Are all the Shepard women so accomplished?"

Eve pointed at herself, "Well, I'm a doctor for the Alliance, and I've got a few degrees in molecular and cell biology. Oh, and I helped create a cure for the Genophage."

"Really? All of you are going to live on in history. I can't say the same for myself..."

She placed a hand on his shoulder, "I certainly think that being the second-ever human Spectre is history worthy."

"Thanks."

Eve quirked a brow, "So... What are ya drinking?"

…...

Jane Shepard was taking care of a medi-gel sabotage in the makeshift refugee camp, when she noticed Anna and Vega playing poker with a few of the refugees. She decided to drop-by,

"Hey Anna, don't clean everyone out, okay?"

"I'm not. I'm actually not playing this round."

Jane raised a brow, "Really? Why?"

Vega answered, "She's my good-luck charm, Lola. She's even taught me a few things."

"Ahh... Well, don't get too carried away."

Anna shifted forward, "Oh, Jane. I think Garrus was looking for you. He's by the docking bay, I think." She smiled, she knew something that Jane didn't.

Once Jane left, Vega directed his attention back to Anna. "Anita, when are we going to tell Lola about you know..."

She responded playfully, "When I'm sure she won't stab you with the knife she keeps in her boot."

"She keeps a knife in her boot?"

"Of course. I have one too. So does Eve. They're matching. Our mother got them for us."

Vega rolled his eyes, "Your whole family is loco."

…...

Sure enough, Garrus was looking for Jane. They had a 'date,' that included a sniping competition overlooking the Presidium. She had let him win the competition, and was rewarded by an unforgettable, "I'm Garrus Vakarian. And this is now officially my favorite spot on the Citadel."

When they returned to the Normandy, the rest of the crew was already there. Eve was nearby to greet them, "Why you two certainly look bubbly. Anything I should know?"

Jane whispered, "I'll tell you later Evie."

Soon enough though, they were off and headed to an Ardat-Yakshi monastery, where they were reunited with an old friend, who pledged herself to Jane's cause. They even came across some ex-Cerberus scientists. Things always seemed to be non-stop.

…...

Eve sent a message to Kaidan, "Hey, Alenko. I'd like another look at that implant of yours. I think I've figured out how to increase the cool-down speed even further. Stop by the med-bay when you've got a sec."

A little later, Kaidan had all sorts of strange gear strapped to his head, but he was still trying to have a conversation with Eve. He liked to chat, probably more than Jane.

"So, uh, do you think your sister has changed? You know, since she worked with Cerberus, and was somehow revived by them..."

"Well that's a stupid question – and yeah, there's stupid questions, Alenko. Of course she changed. I mean she was dead for two years, I've looked at her medical records – her body has undergone extensive modifications. It may have been two years for us, but to her it was one day. Everyone had changed, everything she had known, poof – gone in a blink of an eye. Everyone grew, changed, did things in two years, and she never had that chance. You can't fault her for changing due to that. Who knows what that did to her psychologically. It's pretty difficult to imagine, going through that I mean."

Kaidan shrugged, "Hmm... I suppose you're right. I've had a talk with Jane about it too. I think I can accept what you both have said. Thanks."

"No problem. Happy to clarify. Now, what I'm doing here should help improve your performance. You seemed a little sketchy out there."

"Now there is nothing wrong with my performance, my amp has worked just fine for years."

She exclaimed, "It's as old as a dinosaur!"

"Some things get better with age."

She murmured, "Hmm... Maybe we'll see if that's true."

…...

Some time had passed since Jane and Garrus professed love, so Jane decided to break it to her sisters over an evening of gossip and wine. Jane needed another breather, they were heading to the Perseus Veil, and things were starting to get very hectic on the Normandy.

"So, Anna. You remember how you told me Garrus was looking for me on the Citadel?"

"Yeah. He took you shooting didn't he?"

She looked confused, "How did you..."

Eve spoke up, "He asked us for our opinions about it. He seemed nervous, did he ask you to marry him or something?" She had a big grin on her face.

"Ah... No, not quite that. But we're close, I think. Or maybe it's more like we promised to. Cultural differences, you know..."

"That's confusing as hell, but we're happy for you..." Anna trailed off, "Umm... There's something I've wanted to tell you too. Ah, damn..."

Jane waved her hand encouragingly, "Go ahead. No hostility here. Too much wine."

"Fine... I've, ah, been seeing someone, Vega. James Vega. I know you don't like him much, but hell, we're good together, I think. He seems to be pretty serious too. He wanted to blab to you right off the bat, but I discouraged that. You had a lot going on at the time."

"Awe. Annie." She hugged her, "You didn't have to worry. Yeah, it's true he's kinda an asshole. But, he's a good asshole. I've encouraged him to go ahead with N7 training too, if he gets the chance. And he seems to have feelings, so he can't be a total asshole. I thought he was a big asshole at first, opinions change."

Eve crossed her arms, "Oh man! I was going to use that for blackmail, Anna. Now I have nothing to hold against you." Eve turned to Jane too, "Well, since we're all getting everything off of our chests... Can I ask for your blessing to pursue one of your team members too?"

Jane nearly spit out her drink, "Who Evie?"

"Major Alenko. He seems nice, sincere, polite..."

Anna snickered, "Otherwise your polar opposite."

"Hey!"

Jane spoke before they could start arguing, "Well this might just be the alcohol talking, but Kaidan is a good man. If you were to pursue something, I don't think he would hurt you. But, he doesn't seem to me to be one for something casual. So if that's not your thing, don't go for it. Not that I'm saying you should totally go for it if you're looking for something serious either... Wait. I don't think that made sense. Ugh. Just, just don't tell anyone I'm letting you guys break protocol, and I won't have any major issues. At least right now."

…...

Jane was an early riser, always was. So it was no surprise to Vega, that he found her in the mess, eating breakfast, at 5am.

"Hey, Lola. I was looking for you."

"Really? What's this about?" She quirked a brow, still remembering her drunken confessions with her sisters the night before. She didn't drink enough to blackout and forget the entire night, but she had been close.

"Ah..." He stammered. He sat across from her, not looking her in the eye, but rather off to the side of one of her shoulders. "Anita. Anna, said that she and you had a talk last night. And I was just checking..."

She interrupted him, "All of it is true, what I said. Even if I was a little buzzed at the time. I still think it's true, you're an asshole." She smiled, "And you're good for my sister."

He turned to look at her after that, mouth wide and open. He shut it and opened again, trying to find words, but just shut it one last time. He got up.

"Gracias." That was all he could get out, and he left.

…...

Later, acting upon her sister's encouraging words, Eve walked up to Kaidan in the lounge.

"Hey, there you are."

He chuckled softly, "Are you flirting with me, Doctor?"

"Well if you have to ask, then I'm obviously out of practice."

She sat next to him on the sofa, looking out into the void. He turned to look at her, a smile teasing at the sides of his lips, "Hmm... Maybe you can practice some more with me."

She raised an eyebrow, _flirting __back, __huh?_, "Oh really? Well, let's see..."

…...

Within no time they had met with the Admirals of the Quarian Fleet, and swiftly dealt with the geth dreadnaught. They were on their way to rescue an Admiral Koris, when Anna introduced herself to Tali in the war room.

"Hello? Admiral Tali'Zorah? I'm Lieutenant Anna Shepard. I'm one of the Commander's younger sisters. I've heard a lot about you."

Tali blinked, she was confused, but the Lieutenant couldn't tell behind her mask, "Oh! Nice to meet you Lieutenant Shepard." She shook her hand, "I wasn't aware that the Commander had family in the Alliance, I mean other than her mother."

Anna rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah. It seems as though Jane was keeping us a secret." _Us?_ Tali wasn't hearing things, she was most definitely being plural. Anna continued, "Hey, do you mind if I invite you to have some lunch with me down in the mess? It's not great, but we have plenty of dextro food reserves, since we've had plenty of turians on board. I'd love to hear more about Jane, you know, before things got out of hand. Garrus and Liara both seem to be reluctant to share info about her back then."

Tali nodded, "Sure, that sounds great."

…...

Tali and Anna were sitting across from one another in the mess, they were talking for quite awhile.

"Keelah! You should have seen her face when she found out that she had to _seduce _an asari, a murderer at that. I think she was an Ardat-Yakshi... Anyways, she came on board to change into the only dress she owned, so she'd fit into the bar scene, and her face, Keelah..." Tali was giggling, so much it caused Anna to giggle at her giggling.

All of a sudden they were interrupted by Joker, who had just walked out of the med-bay.

"Holy shit, Eve! My legs feel _amazing_!"

Eve laughed, his face was priceless, "And you doubted me?"

"Yeah. I just wish it didn't cost me 30 credits too... Oh, hey Tali! Look, no braces!" He grinned as he walked over towards Tali and Anna.

Tali replied, "Yeah, and you look a lot straighter too Joker. Good to see." Eve walked up to Joker, and patted him once on the shoulder, "I'm taking full credit." She grinned.

Anna finally decided to interject, "Oh! Tali, this is Doctor Eve Shepard, my twin baby sister. The last Shepard sister."

Eve smiled again, "I complete the trilogy."

Tali didn't reply, but just tilted her head. Joker decided to for her, "Yeah. I didn't know Jane had two younger _twin _sisters either – which is hot by the way. She didn't even tell her Gare-bear. I found out from EDI. They're all kick-ass. This one," he pointed at Anna, "has won _millions_ of credits playing Skillian-Five. And this one," he pointed at Eve, "could be more of a mad scientist than Mordin. She even sings while she works, just like him! It's crazy, I know. Oh, and did you know that we have a living _prothean _on board? I'm not making this stuff up, I swear."

…...

Rannoch took over two weeks to deal with. The Normandy crew had to deal with politics, insane battles, and the loss of yet another dear crew member – Legion. Jane was fairly certain that if she would ever tell someone _everything_ that happened, including the bit about entering a geth consciousness, no one would believe her. But regardless, Hackett was only concerned about the outcome – that Jane had successfully brokered peace between the geth and the quarians.

Jane had convinced Tali to stay aboard, and she had enthusiastically taken the offer. Tali'Zorah vas Normandy belonged on the Normandy. They decided to celebrate by double-checking Tali's old upgrades to the Normandy – they were in a crawl space.

"So... I think Garrus is upset about what happened on Rannoch."

Tali bumped her head, the space was cramped and she couldn't get a good view of Jane, even-though they were next to one another, "What? What do you mean?"

"Oh no. Not about the political bullshit. I mean about me putting myself in danger."

Tali nodded, "Well you do do that a lot, Jane. I don't blame him for being upset. You nearly got killed by a Reaper, _on foot_. It must be hard being so invested in someone, who is constantly battling with death."

Jane sighed, "Yeah. But I have to... How, how do I fix it? It's a lot harder than this wiring. This crap is a piece of cake compared to... _relationships_." Jane elbowed Tali, "Any ideas?"

…...


	6. Chapter 6: Something Breaks

Chapter 6: Something Breaks _[Note: __Long __chapter __ahead! & It's my favorite chapter!]_

En route to the Citadel, during the FTL jump, from one side of the galaxy to the other...

Jane took Tali's advice – they decided to have a sparing competition. It took some convincing, largely on Eve and Tali's part, to persuade Liara and Cortez to participate, so they'd have enough matches.

EDI was voted the judge, and as soon as everyone gathered, Joker was the first to speak up, "Shepard, this is kinda ridiculous. What are we trying to accomplish here?"

Jane stood in the room's center, "We're boosting crew morale through some good-natured fighting." She smiled, "So, this is how it is going to go. First round matches are as follows: Myself vs. Liara, Anna vs. Eve, Garrus vs. Kaidan, James vs. Cortez. Then we'll go from there. The last match will be Man vs. Woman. The prize is 500 credits. No biotics. Any questions?"

Joker pipped up, "Yeah. Isn't this dangerous? I mean, who's going to kill stuff while all of you are in the med-bay? Cause I'm definitely not!"

…...

Liara was certainly nervous about going against Jane, but at least she knew she wouldn't purposely try to harm her – _or __would __she_? The match was over relatively quickly, Jane the victor. Liara walked away with only a few bruises, bruises she would be sure to complain about later.

The match between Anna and Eve lasted an excruciatingly long time. EDI was about to call a draw, before Anna kicked the wind out of Eve, and she crumbled to the ground.

"Yeah! Anita! Kick that ass!" Vega shouted, then wolf-whistled.

Anna bent over to help Eve up, "Sorry sis."

"Yeah, yeah. You only won cause I forgot to tie my hair up." She whispered, "This isn't over."

Kaidan looked painfully nervous when it came to his and Garrus' match. Garrus looked very intimidating, since he was out of his armor, and didn't have a shirt on. Garrus was pretty certain no one other than Jane, and that one incident with Eve, had seen him without clothing – even with strip poker he hadn't lost much clothing, turian outfits were surprisingly layered. He opted to strip as much as possible, as to not hurt the human crew members, since they weren't armored.

Kaidan, without the use of his biotics, didn't stand a chance against a turian with top ranks in hand-to-hand combat. He didn't suffer too much, mostly his ego was bruised.

Then it was James vs. Cortez, "Hey Esteban, you're going down."

And despite Steve's fairly surprising attempts to beat Vega, James still won in the end. Steve didn't have much combat experience though – it was still a good match.

…...

Jane announced, "Alright. Here's the second-round pairs: Myself vs. Anna and Garrus vs. James. The last two will go head-to-head, and the winner will take the credits."

After a short break, Anna and Jane were up. Anna had N6 training, though Jane didn't know why her eye would ever prevent her from being an N7 candidate. It was brutal. It was coming up on an hour when Jane finally pulled through.

After Anna failed to deliver an upper-cut, Jane side-kicked her, brought her down, pinned her arms over her head, and used the rest of her body to successfully pin her back and end the round.

"That was a cheap shot, Jane."

"Hey it worked." They helped each other off of the floor, "And that was a good match." Jane winked, "I may just have to recommend you for N7."

Garrus and James were up next.

"Hey Scars, I won't try to embarrass you too much in front of your lady there." He nodded at Jane.

Garrus chuckled, "Yeah. Neither will I."

Garrus was a natural predator, which gave him an edge against a human of comparable size. Although, where James was all brute force, Garrus had skill. Garrus was able to dodge many of his attacks, whereas James wasn't that lucky. But James sure knew how to take a beating. Black eye, bloody nose, and a plethora of bruises on his upper arms seemed not to stop him. Their match lasted a long time, though not nearly as long as Jane and Anna's. Garrus won the match by delivering a punch to the middle of James' chest, knocking the breath out of him, causing him to double-up backwards.

"Damn Scars..." He struggled with a breath, "Fuck, I'm out."

"Awe. Giving up there, Vega?" Garrus snickered.

Eve and Anna walked up, but Eve was the first to talk, "This is why I brought goodies." She smiled holding up a medical bag, and followed Anna over to James.

Vega tried to laugh, "Well, at least I have two beautiful senoritas to take care of me." Eve stuck her tongue out at James. Anna remarked, "Charming," in response.

Joker came up, "It seems as though Jane and Garrus are going head-to-head..." He rolled his eyes, and added sarcastically, "Wonder who could have seen that one coming."

Tali replied, "I didn't! I bet on that scrappy looking boshtet over there." She pointed at Anna.

Jane came over, laid a hand on Garrus' upper arm, "Well, I think we'll need a break before the final match. How about in an hour we resume?" She looked up at him, he nodded once.

…...

Everyone had gathered in the mess, including EDI. And Karin and Eve had a bit of a line in the med-bay.

Joker sat over with Jane and Traynor at a table in the mess.

"Well, I guess you can't use the same technique with Garrus that you used on your sister. Can't really pin down a 6 foot-something turian with your arms and legs."

Jane took a drink from her water bottle, her injuries had already been looked at by Eve, and they were minor. "You're right there, Joker. Any ideas Traynor?"

Her eyes widened, "No, not really ma'am. Seems as though you're just going to have to out maneuver him. Have you two ever sparred before?"

Jane coughed into her hand, "Ah. Well, not like this..."

Joker pulled on his cap, "Let me stop you right there, Commander... So, what made you decide to turn the cargo-hold into a fighting ring?"

"Well, it was Tali's idea actually."

Joker sat back, "No way. Can't believe she has a dark side. Hmm... I'm gonna have to thank her. I've been recording _everything_, and I mean everything."

…...

Once the hour was up, everyone headed back down to the hold. Jane was making sure to tape up her hands well, Garrus was all hard plates and rough edges, when Garrus came up to her.

He put a hand lightly on her back, "Ready?"

"To kick your ass? Of course." She winked.

"Hmm... We'll see about that. And maybe later you can tell me why you've done all this."

She tied back her hair, and joined him in the middle of the room. She also ditched her t-shirt, and was just wearing a sport's bra and short yoga pants – no shoes, she just taped her feet too. She was hoping that the exposed skin would get to him; she wasn't above playing dirty.

And she was right, his eyes were trailing her body as EDI announced the start of the match. She got in the first punch, to his chest. He quickly retaliated however, with a punch to the side of her jaw.

Within a half hour, they were both sporting various injuries. Jane had a variety of bruises along her jawline and forearms. Even a bloody lip. Jane was merciless to the soft parts of Garrus' body – his waist and joints. She had agility, and kept attacking repeatedly with average hits at those weaker points. Garrus used his height, reach, and strength to his benefit – attacking with forceful hits whenever he had an opportunity. Neither talked much during their match, except for the occasional _Fuck!_ or _Dammit!_ EDI called for regular 2 minute breaks every 10 minutes, as she had been for the entire day.

Joker was baffled, "Wow. Who knew they could go at it for... Wait, how many rounds are we at EDI?"

"Seven, Jeff."

"God. You gonna call a draw yet?"

"As according to the Commander, I cannot until round 10."

Soon enough though, round 10 came along.

"Fuck. You gonna quit, Garrus? Or better yet, be a gentleman and let the lady win?" She walked into the center. She had a blackening eye and a fresh application of medi-gel to her lip.

He barked a laugh, "No way, _Commander_. It's the last round. We'll see how this ends."

Garrus got in the first punch. They both had been slowing down these past few rounds. The match was taking a toll on their bodies. As the ten minutes were nearing an end, Jane got a round-house kick in at Garrus' stomach. He quickly countered though, despite the pain it caused, and got a hit on her cheek and it broke open at the contact. They were both still standing when EDI called time.

"Dammit!" Jane tore out her hair tie, and ran her hands through her sweaty and bloody hair, "Fuck!" She let out a heavy breath, "That was, well that was just... great." She bent to put her hands on her knees, "Fucking damn tie!"

Garrus had a similar reaction to the end of the match, he brought his hands up to his face and was muttering explicatives that no one's omni-tool could translate.

Joker walked over to the center of the growing crowd around them, "Damn. Well I guess no one wins those bets."

Jane stood up at that, "You were betting on us?" She took a step forward, "Who was favored?"

"Uhh..." He lifted his cap and smoothed his hair, "Garrus."

Garrus starting laughing at that, and Jane in retaliation started cursing so much she would have made Jack look saintly.

Once she calmed down, she walked over to Garrus and grabbed his upper arm, "We're going to Chakwas, _now_." She turned around, "The rest of you, get ready for our arrival to the Citadel. What's our ETA, EDI?"

"Approximately three hours twelve minutes."

Jane dragged Garrus over to the elevator, and closed it before anyone else could enter. She hit the display for her cabin, Garrus noticed.

He quirked a turian brow, "Thought we were heading to the med-bay?"

She snorted, "I have plenty of medi-gel in my quarters." She suddenly turned to him, pinned him against the wall with her hands and hips. She smirked devilishly, "We're holding a tie breaker rather you like it or not."

His voice dropped an octave, "Oh? Is this why you held a sparring competition? We could have skipped right to the tie-breaker."

"But this is so much better."

…...

They were on the Citadel for a mere three days before heading to Thessia.

Jane was prepping down in the cargo-hold.

Garrus leaned against the work bench, "Are you sure you don't want me to go?"

She sighed, "I'm sure. You need the break. Besides, Liara volunteered to go. I'm also taking Javik and Eve along." She walked up to him, kissed his un-scared mandible, stood on her tip-toes to reach his forehead in a turain kiss, "No worries. We'll be fine."

What happened on Thessia was far worse than anything Jane could have thought. She really, really wanted to kill Kai Leng now. She had imagined every possible scenario for ripping him to shreds on the ride back to the Normandy. She was angry – angry at everything and everyone.

But, she had things to deal with too. First and foremost was Javik.

…...

After Jane spoke with Javik, she headed up to the crew deck – she wanted to check in on Liara. She was stopped by Tali, who expressed her concern. Tali was talking to Garrus over the comm, he seemed to be concerned about Liara too.

When she entered Liara's quarters, she was crying, hands covering her face. Eve was there sitting on her bed with her, gently rubbing her back. Her face was an odd mixture of worry and furry as she greeted her sister with a short nod. Jane knew she was being a bit of an ass when she was talking to Liara, but Liara needed tough love, so to speak. Liara had significantly calmed by the time she was standing in front of her console, and declared she would help the refugees.

Eve walked over to Liara, and asked her, while talking to her back, "Do you want me to stay?"

Liara softly sniffled, "No. That's quite alright Eve. You've done enough. Thank you."

Eve nodded, even-though Liara couldn't see her, "Alright. Let me know if you need anything."

Eve walked out from her quarters with Jane. She turned to Jane, "I'm going to kill Javik."

"Eve, he apologized, more or less. I've spoken with him you don't..."

Eve wasn't listening, she was walking away from Jane, fists clenched. Jane grabbed her shoulder, perhaps a bit too roughly, "Eve, that's an order." She said in her commanding voice.

Eve whirled around, her fist coming within centimeters of Jane's face before Jane grabbed her wrist, spun her around, and pinned her against the hall's wall. Tali turned around from the memorial wall– with a full view of the situation, the crew in the mess gasped and murmured. Tali must have told Garrus what had happened, because Garrus had rushed out of the main battery, and was standing at the top of the steps watching; Jane didn't even know he was there. Kaidan had just come out of the elevator and turned to see what Tali was looking at, Jane noticed him.

"Major Alenko. Please detain Doctor Shepard in life support, until I indicate otherwise."

He obeyed, gently took Eve by the elbow and led her to life support. The door blinked red once it closed.

_What __the __hell __was __that?_ Jane was fairly certain that Eve and Liara were just platonic, but why was she acting like that? She almost never let her temper get the better of her, that was Anna. What had gotten into her?

…...

Once in life support, Eve walked over to the chair on the far side of the table, and sat in it backwards, legs straddling the back of the chair. Kaidan could see the sweat that had started to pool between her shoulders, beneath her red-and-white medical uniform.

He sat down in the opposite chair. She bent down and pulled a knife from her boot, and for a second he was afraid that he'd have to disarm her, he tensed. But with her back still towards him, she dropped the knife on the table.

"Here. Since I'm in the mood to stab someone, probably best you have this."

He leaned over grabbing the knife, he briefly looked at it. It was long and slender, all metal, there was a kanji he didn't recognize near the handle, he made a mental note to ask her about it later.

"Want to tell me what happened? Why'd I come up to see Jane restraining you?"

She snorted a breath, "Damn Javik. I was there on Thessia, you know? I probably should be more pissed at this Kai Leng bitch, but I'm not." She turned her head to look over her shoulder, "He hurt Liara."

There was something in her expression that betrayed her words, "I'm sensing there's something else going on here."

She shook her head, stood to sit in the chair properly, "Javik was acting just like this asshole I punched at a bar on the Citadel, about eight or nine months ago." She sat down, "He was saying all this crap about Jane. At the time, I didn't know for certain if she was alive or not. I had heard the rumors though... I was a bit drunk, I'll admit. But he was saying something along the lines of how she'd betrayed the Alliance, working for Cerberus, and was betraying mankind. That she had lost who she was, that she's changed. Blah, blah, blah. Even if she wasn't alive, I wasn't going to stand having him disrespect her memory, who she was... Just like Javik was to Liara. He was disrespecting her _entire_ race – the living, dying, and dead. Doesn't matter if he's right or not, you _can't_ do that."

As she was explaining herself, Kaidan had a vague flashback of a drunken bar fight he had gotten into with some brunette woman. _Did __I __get __into __a __fight __with __Eve?_

"Wait, a sec. What did this guy look like?"

She raised an eyebrow, curious now, far less furious, "Black hair, tall. Don't remember too much, I was about six shots in..." Realization dawned on her face, "Wait! I punched you didn't I? That was _you_!"

He blushed, "I, I don't remember exactly. I was a bit far gone then... But it sounds right. It would have been right after I got back from Horizon..." He didn't know what to do, he adverted his eyes from her gaze.

She let out a shockingly loud, full laugh, "Kaidan! I kicked your _ass_!" She gathered herself, "You sooo deserved it then... But, I know you don't feel that way anymore, it's okay."

He coughed into his fist, "You still want to kick Javik's ass?"

She shrugged, "No... Not really. I feel better now, thanks."

…...

Once Jane tore her eyes away from the door to life support, she looked at Tali, who nodded her head to a place to the left of Jane. She turned to see Garrus, looking at her with an undiscernable expression on his face.

She walked up to him. He asked, "Do you want to talk?" She nodded, and followed him to the main battery. She ignored the looks from her crew, she'd deal with them later if need be.

"Want to tell me why Tali practically yelled at me to get my spiky ass out of the main battery, because she thought you were going to break your sister's arm?"

She straightened herself, gripped her wrist behind her back, "I wasn't going to break her arm. I was just restraining her. She tried to punch me..." She relaxed as Garrus' gaze softened on her, she ran a hand through her hair, "She wasn't acting like herself. I think I need to give her some time to cool down... I think we all need a breather, things, well things are getting bad." She shook her head. Traynor went on comm, informing her of an incoming call from Anderson.

Once she'd informed Anderson of the situation, Jane headed to life support to deal with Eve. As the door opened, Kaidan stood and turned to face the Commander. "Ma'am."

She nodded, "Major. What seems to be the situation with our detainee?"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here, Jane."

"Eve. Don't take the situation lightly. You've struck out against your commanding officer, irregardless if we're sisters – that is a direct violation..."

"I know, _Commander_. And as for trying to punch you, I'm sorry. Really. I'll do what ever work you'll put me to for punishment. I'm fine now. I'm sure the Major here can confirm that."

Kaidan nodded. EDI added, "Yes, Shepard. It seems as though her outburst was not intended to harm you. She is in a better state of mind now."

Jane slowly let out a breath, "Fine. You're free to go, Eve. And you'll be on kitchen duty until further notice. Three meals a day." All three left life support, and immediately disbursed. Shepard called out to her, "And I want to know what that was about!"

…...


	7. Chapter 7: Double Date with Reapers

Chapter 7: Double Date with Reapers _[Note: One more chapter after this!]_

"Hey Jimmy!" Anna walked up to Vega's corner in the cargo-hold, and sat on his work bench, interrupting what ever he was working on, "Jane's taking us out." She removed her visor, so she could look at him, well really look at him. It would make him pay attention,

"I don't think it's gonna be a vacation, Anita." He crossed his arms, and looked up at her.

"Well, shit. We're going to Sanctuary. It's a possibility."

"Right. Keep dreaming, loca."

…...

Sanctuary was anything but. It was a horrible place where civilians were turned into Reaper slaves, and horrible experiments were performed – all by Miranda's father.

The team found themselves in a heated battle, with a brute and various other creatures keeping heavy pressure on them. Vega and Garrus were struggling to keep Anna in cover, so she could get her missile launcher ready and take care of the brute. Jane was distracted with her omni-blade tearing apart a cannibal.

Vega greeted Jane as she rolled into cover near him, "Shit, Lola. This is the last time Anita and I go on a double-date with you and Scars."

Garrus laughed, "Ha. So this is a date then. Where's dinner?"

Anna finally got her launcher to cooperate, she blew the brute up in one clean shot. "Right there!"

James slid over to her, "That was the cheesiest line ever." He helped her strap it back onto her back, "Good shot, Ace."

She smirked, "That was the cheesiest line ever, dumbass."

A bullet grazed her cheek, "Someone use incinerate on that mother-fucker!"

"I've got your back, sis." Jane said as she incinerated the cannibal that had fired at Anna.

"God. These lines really have to stop." Yet another brute came crashing through, and Anna began to dislodge her launcher yet again, "Fucking hell! Cover me!"

"I'm setting up a perimeter," Jane replied at she set up a turret, and immediately sent out a combat drone. "So, I've got your front and back covered."

…...

They promptly dealt with the hostiles on Sanctuary, they returned to the Normandy with plans to hunt down Kai Leng. Once the debriefing was over, Anna and James stuck around.

"Hey, Lola. While you and Scars were talking with that chica, Miranda or whatever, Anita and I were at a terminal. We found some info."

Anna playfully pushed James, "No, fucker. He means _I_ found the info. Jimmy can't do shit with tech." She turned to Jane, "I'll forward it to your omni-tool. I didn't know if you wanted me to send it to Eve or not... I think it's a list of families, well family names. Maybe we should notify someone? You know, so they know that they've died."

Jane took a brief look at her omni-tool, she nodded, "Thanks."

Vega added before he left, "Oh, and Lola. You and Scars are treating us to a good double-date after all this shit. One with steak."

…...

"Anna!" The auburn haired woman turned to see a quarian waving to her, and then realizing that she was in the not-completely empty war room, quickly dropped her hand. She walked over to her station, and said, "Hey, is your shift over?"

Anna turned her head a little before replying, "Just have to send out this last message. Why?"

Tali leaned back a little, "I was wondering if you'd like to join me for a few drinks? Even if you can't, I'll still go, but it'll just be a little lonelier, I think."

Anna grinned, "No, it would be damned sad to drink alone." She stoked the keyboard a few times, "There. I'm done. Now lets go get hammered."

A few drinks in, their conversation deviated from talking about various tech upgrades, to parents.

The quarian's speech was starting to slur, "Miranda tried everything to get away from her father, but failed. When are we going to stop living in our parent's shadow, and live for ourselves?"

The human downed a shot before replying, "Well never, I guess. That's the doom of all children. You can't ever get away from your parents, and you can't ever do right by them..." She turned her head towards the other woman on the barstool next to her, "You know our mom, Hannah, never even _tried_ to contact Jane while she was locked-up on Earth? Never ever. How messed is that?"

It sounded like the quarian gasped before replying, "Why'd she do that? Or rather, why didn't she do that?"

Anna chuckled once, "She must've believed the damned news reports. Eve and I didn't. We were allowed to send 'er one message each for that whole time. But at least we sent her somethin'. Jane was able to get word out before she was locked-up. To us all, including mom, that she was alive and sorry for not contacting us sooner. Ha! Mom was furious. Damn. You know, she's the first human Spectre and all, and shit. Jane doesn't need to give us a reason for why she didn't contact us. Happens all the time with people who go into protective services, you think they died. But mom, she's got like a, like a blindfold or something on... Wait. I think that's the most I've ever said at one time. Damn."

Tali giggled, "Sounds like if we get you drinking, you'll give Eve a run for 'Most Talkative Person'. But, if I was ever locked-up for months like that, and my father was alive, I'm sure he would have at least tried to contact me. Your mother sounds like a real boshtet." She took a few more sips before continuing, "You know, I never thanked you for saving Kal'Reegar."

Anna swiveled in her seat, "Saving who now?"

Tali sighed, and ran a hand over her leg, "Kal'Reegar. I'm sure that if you weren't advising the quarian fleet, and if you didn't get Garrus' authority, Kal would have died trying to fix that nasty comm tower!"

Anna's eyes widened, "Oh! I remember that report! Yeah, that was one hell of a situation. I had to rush to authorize Palavan ground-troops to mobilize on that tower, and give the quarians some backup. Damned if I know who the hell authorized one quarian team to handle a swarmed comm tower, that was vital, mind you. So I did my job, since Palavan-side they weren't. You know, I'm a strategist through-and-through, but I still like to kill stuff." She winked, "So... Who's Kal'Reegar?"

If Anna could see Tali blush, then she would be looking at one brightly colored quarian. Tali still tried to cover her face on reflex, "Ah... Well, he's a friend. I've worked with him before, and ah..."

Anna slapped Tali on the shoulder, "I'll keep an eye on your boo. I'll keep him safe, don't worry." She smiled.

Tali's voice went a few octaves higher, "My what?"

…...

Some time later, a nearly fall-over-drunk Anna made her way to Vega's spot in the cargo-hold.

"Jimmy!" she giggled, "You want some dirt on the quarian? What is it you call 'er? Sparkles, Spotty, Speckles? Shit..."

Jimmy walked over and wrapped an arm around her waist to support her, "Are you drunk, Anita? I thought that couldn't happen." A shit-eating grin spread over his face.

She smacked his shoulder, "I'll be all better in a few minutes. The meds have almost kicked in."

He laid her out on his new cot, her face turned towards the celling. He snickered, and raised her head, so he could put it on his leg.

She grasped his hand once he sat, and exhaled slowly. Lucidity was returning to her, "James..." He reached down and took off her visor, she continued, "I think Jane isn't handling everything too well. You know, I tried to cheer her up on Horizon. I think we kinda cheered her up."

She sighed, "Shit's hit the fan. There's so many transmissions I go through, and Jane goes through just as many. Calls for help, advice."

She looked up at him, "And the damned death tools. The numbers of refugees. There isn't enough room for them, _anywhere_..."

She spoke in a quieter voice, "There's just so much death, _period_. I don't think Jane can handle it. I mean, I hope she does..." She trailed off.

Vega spoke in a low voice, "How are you handling it, Anita?"

She was nearly whispering now, "I don't know... I really don't." She shook her head.

He scooped her up, she laid her head on his shoulder, and he carried her to the nearby shuttle.

…...

Eve froze as she felt a hand on the back of her neck. She reached up and turned off her earpiece, before turning around. She was face-to-face with a Kaidan, who was very much in her personal space, not that she had a problem with it.

She smiled at him before he spoke, "So, what were you listening to?"

Her smile grew wider, "Cats."

He chuckled, "You do seem to be a sucker for antiques. I could hear you singing down the hall."

She motioned with her hands, "Yeah, well, it seems I'm a sucker for two things – antiques and medicine."

His hand slid down to her upper-arm, "You know, I've had some medical training. I've been trained as a field medic."

Her eyes grew wide, "Really? Seems as though you embody _both_ things I'm a sucker for." He grinned, she continued, "How much training are we talking about?"

He pretended to think about it, "Well, I'm no doctor, but I think I could give you a run for your money, on some _things_."

Her voice lowered, her eyes shinning, "You want to put that to the test?"

He sat next to her on the sofa in the lounge, no space in between them. A malicing grin passed over Eve's face. She suddenly straddled his waist, and pushed a few keys on her omni-tool. Traynor noticed the door flash red as she made her way to the women's restroom.

…...

Near the end of his shift, Jane went into the main battery, "Hey Garrus. You have a minute?"

Garrus turned around, "Yeah. Definitely."

Jane started to wring her hands together, Garrus rose an eye ridge, "Is something wrong."

She ran a hand in her hair, and slowly released a breath, "Yeah... It's just..."

Garrus walked over and wrapped his arms around her.

EDI suddenly went on comm, "I am sorry to interrupt, Commander. But Hackett is on call. I believe it pertains to our current destination, the Cerberus base."

Jane slowly pulled out of Garrus' arms, "It's okay, EDI. I'll be there in a minute."

She looked up at Garrus, "I have to take this." He nodded, and she left.

Once Garrus finished his shift, a half hour later, he headed up to the Captain's cabin.

He grew very concerned when he saw Jane hunched over on the bed, clasping a data pad in her hands. Her knuckles were white.

When he sat beside her on the bed, he could see the stress radiating from her. He wanted nothing but to comfort her.

Ever since she said that she loved him, he has been waiting for the opportunity to fully return those affections. Exclamations of love weren't really a turian thing, but then again, he was a bad turian. And the women he loves is hurting.

Garrus' concern only grew more throughout the entirety of the mission on the Cerberus base. When Jane saw those recordings of her resurrection, he was the only one there for her. She left her sisters behind on the Normandy. EDI and Kaidan couldn't say, or do, anything; it wasn't their place to.

Jane was planning the final battle on Earth, she had earlier received word that the Crucible was completed. Anna was in the process of organizing the fleets. Garrus didn't know what to do. He wasn't sure if he and Jane would survive this, he didn't want to think about it.

…...


	8. Chapter 8: Sun and Shadows

Chapter 8: Sun and Shadows _[Note: __The __format __of __this __chapter __deviates __from __prior __chapters. __I __wrote __it __like __that __to __draw __attention __to __certain __points. __Sorry __if __it's __annoying!]_

Garrus came to slowly, his vision was blurred, and he thought he heard someone yelling his name.

He tried to concentrate on it, "Garrus! Garrus! Can you hear me? Come on, snap out of it!"

He closed his eyes hard, and opened them again, he could see now, "Eve?" Pain surged through his side when he spoke.

He felt her hands on his mandibles, causing him to look at her eyes, "Garrus! Don't move! I have to strip you of your chest armor."

He looked down. His armor was charred, bits blown off. Then he saw blue, his blue, his blood. His eyes widened in horror, "What... What happened?"

"Shrapnel!" Eve yelled, as she slowly pried his chest plate off.

Suddenly his mind sprung to life, "Jane!" His entire abdomen ached when he yelled.

Eve shook her head, "She headed for the beam! She was alive! Injured, but alive!"

He forgot to breath a moment. Eve applied copious amounts of medi-gel to his wounds, "Why didn't you go after her?" Anger burned through his thoughts.

Eve's eyes teared up, "I couldn't, Garrus!" She pointed down at her leg.

Garrus' mandibles tightened to his face. She had several pieces of metal, ranging in size, sticking out of her right leg and hip.

She spoke when he didn't respond, "The metal was hot. It cauterized the wounds. I haven't lost much blood. I just can't walk."

She shook her head again, "I can't find Anna! Can you get up now?" She snapped back his chest piece.

Garrus took a deep breath, and braced himself against the truck wheel he was leaning against. He tried to stand, pain forced him to slide back down, "No!"

Eve teared up again, she started yelling, "Anna! Anna! Are you alive? Anna!"

She struggled to scoot herself backwards on her hands, "Anna!"

Garrus picked up the sounds of footsteps. They were far away, behind him and the truck. He guessed Eve couldn't hear them, "Eve! I hear someone! Behind the truck!"

Eve scooted faster, "Anna! Is that you?"

Suddenly Eve saw her sister. She was walking, slowly. Anna was clutching her left arm, her face was covered in blood.

Eve's eyes widened. Anna's visor had broken off, and pieces were embedded in her face. A large piece was lodged in her neck. "Oh, shit! Anna! Come here! I can't get up!"

Anna dropped to her knees in front of her sister. Eve's hands flew to her neck, "It didn't hit an artery! Nicked your windpipe! Could have injured your vocal chords! I'm gonna pull it out! I have medi-gel!"

Anna groaned in pain, too afraid to yell, or maybe she wasn't able to. The bleeding stopped as soon as the medi-gel was applied.

Anna didn't wait for Eve to tend her other wounds. As soon as her neck stopped bleeding, and stopped coursing pain through her, she got up. Anna climbed into the toppled truck. She found the hand-held emergency radio device. She threw it at Garrus, he was closest to her.

A few other soldiers started to come-to. Many cried out in pain.

…...

A few hours later, they were all at a make-shift trauma center. Eve was actually limping around, tending to the wounded.

Garrus was outside, head in his hands. Anna walked over, slid to take a seat next to him.

Her voice came out hoarse and quiet, "Garrus..."

Suddenly the sky was ablaze. Within minutes, a frantic soldier was running towards the center, yelling, "It's over! The Reapers are falling!"

They both got up, and ran to the closest monitor. A voice could be heard over the images of the Reapers shorting, and falling apart, "It was confirmed that the Crucible was activated! The Reapers seem to be self-destructing! The war is won!"

Garrus whispered, "Spirits... Jane did it..."

They looked up; explosions were coming from the Citadel.

…...

After it was determined to be safe, many ships boarded the Citadel, searching for survivors. The structure was still whole, but it sustained significant damage. Civilians were being extracted. There was no sign of Commander Jane Shepard.

Two hours into the search, Garrus couldn't take it. He walked, walked for a long time. He eventually came to the field where Jane was last seen.

He walked towards where the beam was. The beam was no longer there, a huge pile of rubble was in its place.

As he got closer, he heard something.

He strained.

He heard it again.

He ran.

He yelled.

"Jane!"

…...

Six days later Jane Shepard could see.

She saw Garrus, and cried. She saw her sisters, her whole body shook.

Two week later Jane Shepard could speak.

She could only say words at a time, and it strained her, greatly. Her first word was, "Garrus."

Three weeks later Jane Shepard could speak complete sentences.

As her loved ones surrounded her, she spoke her first sentence, "Keep heading towards the sun, and the shadows will fall behind you." It was labored and rough, but they could all understand her.

Eve started sobbing. Anna put her hand on Jane's arm, right above where she grasped Garrus' hand.

Anna whispered, "That's what you said at dad's funeral."

Soon Jane Shepard learned of everything that happened.

She destroyed the Reapers. She avoided the main explosions by escaping through the beam that brought her to the Citadel. The Citadel was damaged, but salvageable. Less than half of the Citadel's population had been extracted. The Normandy had aided in the extraction. The ground team members were still in London, they were helping in any capacity possible. The Mass Relays had shorted. All the minds that had worked on the Crucible, had almost immediately set to work on repairing the Relays.

Nearly everything she was told in those final moments, was a lie. _Guess __you __shouldn't __trust __a __hologram __of __a __dead __boy. __And __why __would __you?_

EDI was still alive, so were the Geth. Jane's Cerberus implants kept her alive. All synthetics were not destroyed.

The Catalyst lied in order to protect its best interests; it didn't want to be destroyed.

Jane Shepard would survive.

The galaxy was saved.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

**Epilogue**

"Tia Jane!"

Jane bent down and scooped up her dark-haired five year-old niece, Olivia.

Jack shouted from across the room, on the sofa, "Finally the rest of you showed up!"

James, Anna, EDI, and Joker filed into the room after Olivia. They joined the rest of Jane and Garrus' house guests.

Joker felt compelled to remark, "Why do you have a banner that says 'Seven Year Anniversary'? It's not like we're celebrating a wedding."

Jane chuckled, "No, but we are celebrating the seventh anniversary of the Mass Relay activation."

Joker mumbled, "Yeah, but last year there wasn't a banner."

Olivia started to squirm, so Jane put her down. The girl scurried over towards the other children playing in the back of the room. She snatched a block away from one of Liara and Javik's daughters, Tallia, who started crying. When Tallia started crying, her younger sister Devina had to join in.

Solana stood up, "I've got this one," and walked over. She bent down and whispered to the girls, and handed a doll to Olivia. When Aldrin saw his mother give one of the other children a toy, he wanted one too. So, Solana had to quickly pacify her son as well.

Once everyone quited, Jane announced, "I'll see if Garrus is done in the kitchen. We'll eat soon." She smiled and left the living room.

Anna walked over to where Tali was sitting next to Eve, and rubbed her swollen abdomen, "When's he due?"

Kal'Reegar spoke up for Tali, "A little over two months now." Pride was evident in his voice.

Kaidan coughed and had to add, "Let's just hope he gets his looks from his mother." Eve elbowed him, and Kal sat back.

Tali laughed, "He can look like anything, and he'll still be loved... Well, maybe not a vorcha."

EDI interjected, "It is highly unlikely that your child would have the appearance of a vorcha, Tali." That caused a burst of laughter across the entire room.

Jane and Garrus emerged from the kitchen. Jane announced, "Dinner's done!" and sat a tray full of food on the table.

She pointed towards the far end of the table, "Dextro meals on that end." She turned, "And Levo meals on this end. EDI, would you mind helping the children?"

"I am happy to assist."

Joker laughed and put a hand on her shoulder, "You always get stuck at the kid's table."

Suddenly Jane and Garrus' omni-tools beeped. Garrus pulled the message open, and his face dropped.

"Jane..."

Seeing her mate's expression, Jane quickly pulled open her message too, and shrieked, "We're having a baby!" She turned towards Garrus, and practically tackled him in a hug.

Jack exclaimed, "What?"

Garrus spoke up as Jane loosened her grip, "We were accepted. The adoption's going through."

Solana cackled and picked up Aldrin, "Guess you're finally getting a little turian cousin."

Jane wiped a tear from her eye, "Thanks for pulling those strings, Liara."

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

_Author's note:_

_I love fluffy endings. If you don't really care for a sunshine and bunnies ending, then I guess you can ignore the epilogue. lol. But, the whole ending prior to the epilogue, is my personal favorite take on the destroy ending. Again, sunshine and bunnies! Hope you enjoyed it all! Please review! I'd really, really appreciate it! Thanks a bunch! - Musicalrain_

_P.S._

_Sorry this last chapter is a little short! :)_

_NOTICE: **I drew them! Update: I've fixed the link! Sorry for the delay!**  
_

___musicalrain0 (dot) deviantart (dot) com/#/d50twkp_


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